Over all how do you feel about Pope Francis?

[Douglas Carpenter]

42 votes, 4 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I think he is fantastic - words cannot describe
	7 (17%)
	I think he is great on economic issues - But he is still in the past on social issues but at least is showing some signs of some baby steps in the right direction
	26 (62%)
	I have mixed feeling and haven't quite made up my mind yet.
	4 (10%)
	He is a homophobic bigot and a misogynist
	5 (12%)
	He is a bit too liberal for my taste.
	0 (0%)
	4 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[pangaia]

1. I just voted 'too liberal for my tastes' ... Just to mess with ya.'

[otherone]

49. kick

lol

[Scuba]

2. He's moved the needle farther in six months than his predecessors did in the last 15 centuries.

I'll take that, and look forward to more good coming from this man.


Signed: severe critic of the Roman Catholic Church.

[NuclearDem]

3. Always could be better, but as far as the head of the largest religious organization on the planet

He's making waves and actually trying to practice what Jesus preached.

-An atheist.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. Francis is the Ronald Reagan of religion, using well honed skills to put a kindly face

onto rabid, backward policies. His job is to distract from the horrific crimes that infect his fetid company. He knows that if he exploits issues of poverty, he can make many people join him in making a smokescreen to free rapists and hate mongers so they can go forth and do what they do all over again.
Francis has shown me that LGBT people should not expect any loyalty from Democrats at all. This Party is too comfortable with bigoted, anti choice conservatives. It won't be long until women get sick of hearing they are not equal and stop putting up with it either. Before Francis I had no idea so many here were anti choice, opposed to birth control, and willing to shit on LGBT people to please a right wing preacher. Now I do.

[idwiyo]

33. +1

[Thinkingabout]

54. Perhaps you could adjust you thinking by using your words, your position on Pope Francis might be

Your smoke screen on the fact he does have compassion for the poor and ill. None of are able to change the last 50 years but tomorrow we can wake and try to let it be the first day of the rest of our lives and try to show consideration of everyone.

[SidDithers]

5. He's a kindler, gentler bigot and homophobe...nt

Sid

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. I hope he runs again in

..oh, wait. Never mind.

[Populist_Prole]

7. So glad to hear a religious figure talk like this, especially with so many RW "christians" around

[Blue_In_AK]

8. I'm not Catholic

but I like him a lot better than the Nazi Pope.

[Wounded Bear]

9. He certainly says a lot of the right things (about economics, anyway)...

but is he having a real affect on Catholic Church practices?

I don't see it, but then again, I'm not a Catholic and it isn't a thing I spend a lot of time on.

Right now, I'm a bit worried about the CC taking over medical care in my state (WA) and what effect that might have on access/care.

[Chan790]

47. "Is he having a real affect on Catholic Church practices?"

Globally? Undetermined, leaning yes. A large part of this is that for a large part of Europe and other largely-urbanized predominantly-Catholic societies, the social issues are largely more settled. The church lost and most Catholics pay no mind to the church's position...thus there is not a large Catholic conservative bloc. Catholicism is there foremost an economically-liberal faith before a socially-conservative one in those places.

Domestically? No...American Catholic leadership is committed Republican and conservative on the basis of social issues. The USCCB just elected a new head of organization whose most prominent quality is that he is vocally-opposed to the policy agenda of this Pope both on economic issues and the slight liberalization on social issues. There are some signs in the wind that given a some time, Francis is about to become more actively involved in curbing this bloc of American Catholic conservatism. But for now, it's not really having an impact except the slight unrelated and previous uptick in liberal Catholic laity who predominantly vote economic issues.

[alterfurz]

10. "I would probably vote for this Pope for President...

...but he's too liberal to win." -- Andy Borowitz

[nyquil_man]

11. I'd love him if he'd push for a Vatican III.

As it is, I'm happy that he's annoying conservatives.

[rucky]

12. Fuck Yeah!

He's doing more good for this country - and the world - than any politician could. And it will affect the elections, too.

[Cleita]

13. If he lasts long enough, maybe he can be pushed to do some ex cathedra

encyclicals on things the Church is still backwards about. He's treading on dangerous waters and there is still Benny the Rat hovering there in the background, who will probably step back into the ruby slippers if something happens to this Pope.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. He has to be graded on a curve.

He's an order of magnitude better than any of his predecessors - at least in my lifetime.

[99Forever]

15. How's about...

... a really don't give a crap option.

[Comrade Grumpy]

16. I won't be happy until I see him in a thong at the Gay Pride parade.

[Cleita]

18. Why would you demand this of a Catholic priest and not a cleric of another religion

who haven't accepted gays? It doesn't seem fair and equal.

[Comrade Grumpy]

26. No one was asking about them.

[idwiyo]

41. This is an OP about pope, no? Start a similar OP about another cleric and see what happens.

I'll be happy to let you know what I think about another homophobic forced-birther.

Unless you manage to find one who is pro-Equal Rights...

[Cleita]

43. That makes no sense, but this whole anti-Catholic hate thing doesn't

considering most religions have no place for them either.

[Comrade Grumpy]

45. Sorry. I should have used the sarcasm thingie in my first response in this thread.

[idwiyo]

46. What exactly doesn't make sense? Talking about pope in a thread about pope?

Who else would you like us to talk about in this tread?

Just to make it clear: bigot, is a bigot, is a bigot. Don't give a shit about denomination. Yours is one of the most dangerous ones simply because of the number of people who accept him as their "spiritual' leader. Ever wondered how many people got infected with HIV because previous moron told them not to use condoms? Talk to me about 'unfair' treatment when new arsehole starts supporting Equal Rights.


P.S. I have a fairly high opinion about Quakers, Reformed Jews, and Muslims for Progressive Values. They are every bit as religious as your favorite guy, with one huge difference - they support Equal Rights.

[otohara]

17. I Fear For His Life

and just "liked" him on FB. I was surprised, yet not surprised he only had 400,000 fans in the entire world.

I loath religion, but this man speaks the truth related to these times.
Kudos to Pope Francis.

[Egalitarian Thug]

19. About the same as I feel about the President. Certainly better than the alternatives, his

heart is probably in the right place, but in the end, while he believes in and promotes some good ideas, he is enthralled by a mythology that serves to make the world worse for most of the people that live here.

The road to Hell and all that...

[jwirr]

20. I am not a Catholic so have withheld an opinion. However last night I heard his denouncement of

trickle down economics and remember he is from Argentina. He has been there done that. He is trying to help the world wake up to the evil behind the greed that came out of Chicago University via the Chicago Boys. At least in this sense I think he is a breathe of fresh air.

[DrewFlorida]

21. For a believer of make-believe rulers in the sky, he is as good as we've seen.

[LadyHawkAZ]

22. I think he's got a great PR man

and until I see major changes actually happen, that's all it is to me- damage control on a heavily damaged brand by its new CEO.

I'd be happy to be proven wrong. Time will tell.

[Vashta Nerada]

23. Religious leaders are supposed to be against capitalism.

Even Ratz spoke out against it.

So...Franny hasn't done anything new.

[Shankapotomus]

24. It seems what the Pope is doing for the Church

is like what Gorbachev did for Communism. Radical change that eventually led to collapse. There seems to be a pattern running through all the major ideologies. Critical examination from within. Communism was first. Next, Islamic states are a special case because the pressure for change seems to be mostly thrust upon it from the outside. But that has more to do with many of the prohibitions against speaking out in the Muslim world. However, state Islam as an ideology is still feeling the pressure. Now it's not only the Church but the Church is finger pointing the next ideology on the chopping block: Global Capitalism.

The world is experiencing growing pains. There seems to be a pattern of thought rising that is too big for the old systems to contain and it's breaking its restrictive containers. The old is dying out. The old is failing. The old is too constraining and must go. The Pope clearly recognizes this.

[NYC Liberal]

25. He's pretty much the same as the last guy

from economics to his bigotry.

[devils chaplain]

27. The Catholic Church isn't leaving us anytime soon, and so...

... any significant progress is a good thing. Expecting everything to change overnight isn't realistic. I'm not and never will be a Catholic again, but I'm heartened to see the new change in tone. I think Pope Francis is a sincere man and this isn't just marketing campaign.

[treestar]

28. For the head of the Catholic Church, an institution as old as the hills

He's pretty good.

The social issue type things, I don't expect the Church to modernize on quite so fast.

[starroute]

29. I think he knows the church is in trouble if it doesn't make changes

The Catholic Church has been rapidly losing adherents in Europe -- and Benedict's attempts to get them back were a flat failure. It's been gaining more support in the Third World, but even in Latin America American-style fundamentalism has made inroads because it's less hierarchical and more do-it-yourself than the Catholic Church. In the United States, the power structure is such that the bishops are reliably conservative, but the parishioners are growing less inclined to pay attention to them.

I think Francis came into the job by applying his keen Jesuit analytical skills to the problem. I think he decided that it was necessary to appeal to the poor and to the desire for social justice -- and that the church was well-placed to do just that by drawing on well-established positions that go back to Pope Leo XIII a century ago. And I think he felt it was useful to prop up support in the West by soft-pedaling divisive social issues. Pragmatic? Yes, but pragmatism based on an appeal to higher values. And that's not a bad thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIII#Rerum_Novarum

His encyclicals changed the Church's relations with temporal authorities, and, in the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, for the first time addressed social inequality and social justice issues with Papal authority, focusing on the rights and duties of capital and labour. He was greatly influenced by Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, a German bishop who openly propagated siding with the suffering working classes in his book Die Arbeiterfrage und das Christentum. Since Leo XIII, Papal teachings expand on the rights and obligations of workers and the limitations of private property: Pope Pius XI Quadragesimo Anno, the Social teachings of Pope Pius XII on a huge range of social issues, John XXIII Mater et Magistra in 1961, Pope Paul VI, the encyclical Populorum Progressio on World development issues, and Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum. Leo XIII had argued that both capitalism and communism are flawed. Rerum Novarum introduced the idea of subsidiarity, the principle that political and social decisions should be taken at a local level, if possible, rather than by a central authority, into Catholic social thought.

[Iggo]

30. Overall? He's the pope.

No use for any pope whatsoever since about 1968.

[bklyncowgirl]

31. When I hear him speaking on economic issues I am absolutely delighted.

On social issues, not so much but I appreciate his change in tone. I don't believe he will ever work to change church teachings on abortion but I read his latest work and noticed that he did not mention birth control. Perhaps there's an opening there. As for women's issues--unlike his recent predecessors he doesn't seem afraid of us. He sounds like he's looking for a way to get women into places of power without ordination.

I'm not quite ready to return to the Catholic Church yet but he does have my attention

[Posteritatis]

32. Ah, pushpolls.. (nt)

[Douglas Carpenter]

55. how's that? I listed the most commonly stated opinions that have been posted here on DU - people

voted accordingly to which was closest to their opinion

[idwiyo]

34. He is a homophobic, forced-birther bigot.

[NastyRiffraff]

35. I know he's no liberal on all issues

but anyone Rush hates can't be all bad.

[brentspeak]

36. Repubs and Wall St. Democrats don't like him n/t

[840high]

37. I like him a lot.

[NaturalHigh]

38. Me too.

I'm not Catholic, but my wife is. She absolutely loves him.

[quaker bill]

39. while not taken with Popes in general,

this one seems better than most.

[Douglas Carpenter]

40. some mroe results

[TBF]

42. I've got to vote for homophobic bigot and a misogynist -

but I do love what he is saying about economic inequality.

[Douglas Carpenter]

44. one last attempt for more resutls

[Incitatus]

48. He knows which way the wind blows.

I can see how some religious fundamentalists can dislike him, but the church must change with the zeitgeist to survive. It is different than it was 100 years ago and will be different years from now than is is today.

[polichick]

50. The whole hierarchical structure is absurd.

[CorrectOfCenter]

51. Chose the 2nd option.

Frankly, I'm not concerned about his opposition to marriage equality and freedom of choice.

I think we're doing just fine on those fronts with or without the pope, not discounting some disgusting set backs on the pro-choice front we've had as of late of course.

We've barely scratched the surface on properly addressing income inequality, however, and he seems much more vocal about those issues than the social ones.

[DefenseLawyer]

52. He wasn't in the Hitler Youth

I consider that at step forward.

[last1standing]

53. I like his stance on economics and the fact that he's lower key on social issues.

But I believe he, and the church, still need to be criticized and pushed into the 21st century on issues such as contraception and LGBT rights. Too many want to swoon over the fact that he's emphasizing economics over social policy while he's still anti-gay and anti- woman.

In short; I say support him when he's right and criticize him when he's wrong. Just like anyone else.